Halloween
Revealers & Uninvited by Amanda Marrone Book Spotlight + #Giveaway #TipsySpooktacular Stop 5
Ahem.
Ohai there!
Today I have a treat for you all. It’s another book spotlight BUT there are 2 and they are NOT part of a series :O I know that seems odd from someone like me who absolutely LOVES to read book series, serieses… Ehh I know, not very English major or author-y of me but whatever, I think the first one is correct.
So back on topic, this is more of an Author Spotlight. I don’t exactly remember when I bought these books just that I love them and I really hope you all take a chance on them. I know the goodreads rating isn’t all that great for one of them but I think the books rock.
The books in question are ‘Uninvited’ and ‘Revealers’ by Amanda Marrone. Uninvited is an out of the box vampire read. Abso-freaking-lutely like nothing I have ever read when it comes to vampires. Sure I got a Dangerous Girls by R.L. Stine vibe from it BUT it was a novel all on its own. The similarity starts and ends with the age of the main character, the vampire thing and how dark it is. Literally that is it. This book, and other vampire books sit at 2 vastly different ends of the spectrum. There is no romantizing the vampires. And personally, I liked that this was not really marketed as a vampire book. Aside for my knowledge of vampire invitations, the night time visits and the eerie but beautiful cover, there was no giveaway to the vampire tidbit. Now, before you go all crazy reader on me, this is not a spoiler. The author has mentioned that it is a vampire story and this in no way gives away the plot of the series of events that follow. I literally love this book. It is dark and can seem a bit slow to start with but it’s worth the wait.
Revealers is an interesting and fun magical read. I was initially drawn in by the cover because well come on who wouldn’t be, it’s gorgeous! I love the blue smoke and the simplicity in the design. So I did what most do when a book cover jumps out and snags their attention I flipped it over and got to reading the synopsis. I was all for it! I got to reading and I couldn’t put it down. I even remember where I was sitting for the couple of hours it took for me to finish it. It’s full of plot twists and interesting magic and witches. Its spooky to an extent
but really keeps you on your toes. This too stands on its own as a paranormal novel and book featuring a witchy cast. When all was said and done, I was super sad to see this story was over. They are not spooky in your typical sense but I do feel like these are great books to get you into the Halloween/Samhain mood. See what I did there 😉
Also, funny story guys, I penned a character who was a witch years ago when I was 14, before having read any of these books but she was nameless… I just kept using ‘insert name’ then I read Revealers years later, I loved the characters, all of them. But one name just kept haunting me. Fast forward 1 year and I actually met a woman with this name while shopping for incense. She was a pagan woman like my sister, but her personality was so similar to this witch I had written and it felt like it was meant to be. So in a weird chance of fate, this woman and the book ‘Revealers’ helped me name one of my main characters in The Birth Curse Series, I give you, Zahara Frost ladies and gentlemen.
Revealers
Amanda Marrone
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy, Supernatural Fiction
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 978-1416958741
ASIN: B004KKXN3W
Goodreads Rating: 3.58
Witchin’ ain’t easy.
Jules has a rebellious streak, a massive crush on Connor, and the abilities of a Revealer witch. By day, she and her coven friends seem like typical high school seniors. By night, they have the power to make werewolves, vampires, and ghosts reveal themselves, so they can destroy them. It’s not exactly cheerleading, but at least the girls know they’re doing the world some good.
One by one, Jules’s friends turn eighteen and are initiated into the coven’s inner circle. And one by one, they are getting completely freaked out. Jules is the youngest, and though her friends are too scared tell her what’s going on, something’s clearly not right. As her birthday approaches, Jules realizes she’s got to find out what’s behind the shadows of her coven before it’s too late to save her friends…and herself. But what she discovers may be too powerful for even the toughest witches to defeat.
Uninvited
Amanda Marrone
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy, Supernatural Fiction
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 978-1416939788
ASIN: B003YFJ1DK
Pages: 224
Goodreads Rating: 2.95
Jordan’s life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.
Jordan can’t understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life — once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn’t relate to — now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.
Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say
the words….
About The Author
Amanda Marrone grew up on Long Island where she spent her time reading, drawing, watching insects, and suffering from an over-active imagination. It didn’t help that her father told bloodcurdling stories, and would take Amanda and her siblings for moon lit walks in the graveyard—the highlight of which involved having them march up to mausoleums and knock on the doors—alone. On more than one occasion, Amanda turned around to find they’d ditched her for laughs. (No, she didn’t find that particularly funny.) Not surprisingly, she was extremely scared of the dark—living in fear of cats meowing at the door at night (she was sure they were really monsters pretending to be her cats), and things lurking in basements, attics, dark rooms, and closets.Amanda successfully avoided monster attacks by leaving all the lights on in her house, and convincing other family members to let the cats in—eventually earning a B.A. in Education at SUNY Cortland. She taught fifth and sixth grade in New Hampshire, where she was known for putting on mini-musicals, and dissecting eyeballs and owl pellets with her students.
After taking a very early retirement to raise a family and write novels—some of which have vampires and other creepy creatures, Amanda now lives in Connecticut with her husband, Joe, two kids, two cats, a crayfish, hissing cockroaches, and
their newest addition is Griffin, a havanese dog who can say “Hello” and “I love you”. Check the links page to see Griffin’s YouTube videos where you can see him in action.
Amanda loves reading, going to Broadway shows, creepy crawly things, hiking, annoying her husband with show tunes, and is thinking about getting another tattoo. She is still scared of the dark.
Amanda’s first two books for teens, Uninvited and Revealers are available now, and her next book Devoured will be out in September of 2009. Her middle grade series The Magic Repair Shop Chronicles: The Multiplying Menace, Kobold Blues
and The Shape Shifter’s Curse will be available starting in the summer of 2010.
Enter The Giveaway Here
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Wicked Series by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie Spotlight + #Giveaway! #TipsySpooktacular
Witch & Curse
Wicked Series
Books 1 and 2
Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
ISBN: 978-0760783207
Pages: 672
Goodreads Rating: 3.59
Book Description:
Holly Cathers’s world shatters when her parents are killed in a terrible accident. Wrenched from her home in San Francisco, she is sent to Seattle to live with her relatives, Aunt Marie-Claire and her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole.
In her new home, Holly’s sorrow and grief soon give way to bewilderment at the strange incidents going on around her. Such as how any wish she whispers to her cat seems to come true. Or the way a friend is injured after a freak attack from a vicious falcon. And there’s the undeniable, magnetic attraction to a boy Holly barely knows.
Holly, Amanda, and Nicole are about to be launched into a dark legacy of witches, secrets, and alliances, where ancient magics yield dangerous results. The girls will assume their roles in an intergenerational feud beyond their wildest imaginations…and in doing so, will attempt to fulfill their shared destiny.
Wicked Series
Books 3 and 4
Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9780760789407
Pages: 655
Goodreads Rating: 3.87
Book Description:
Complete text of Legacy and Spellbound in a single volume.
Holly Cathers is not the same person she was almost a year and a half ago. After discovering her connection to an ancient legacy of witches, Holly has accepted her destiny as a descendant of the House of Cahors. She is determined to end an intergenerational feud that has plagued her family for centuries.
Holly will have to overcome unworldly obstacles as she battles to protect her loved ones — including Jer, a member of the rival House of Deveraux and her one true love. A war of magical proportions is being waged, and Holly is at the center of it all.
Lives will be lost, and sacrifices will have to be made…
Resurrection
Wicked Series
Book 5
Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 402
Goodreads Rating: 3.95
Book Description:
Who is Alex Carruthers? That is the question Wicked fans have been asking for nearly six years. Spellbound, the fourth and seemingly final book in the Wicked series, originally published in 2003, left readers on the edge of their seats with a classic cliffhanger ending. But now, as new fans of the bind-up editions of the series begin to ask the same question, the true and final conclusion to the Wicked series will emerge. And all their questions will be answered in this heart-stopping, magical adventure about witches, destiny, and the beyond.
throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
Debbie Viguié is the New York Times Bestselling author of more than three dozen novels including the Wicked series co-authored with Nancy Holder. In addition to her epic dark fantasy work Debbie also writes thrillers including The Psalm 23 Mysteries, the Kiss trilogy, and the Witch Hunt trilogy. Debbie also plays a recurring character on the audio drama, Doctor Geek’s Laboratory. When Debbie isn’t busy writing or acting she enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, visiting theme parks.
Tipsy-Ink’s Halloween Spooktacular Blast Off Review + #Giveaway (Month Long Event)
Hello My Lovelies
Growing up I was sick a lot, the books were a staple in my home. What started off as me emulating my sister turned into me falling in love with literature. By the time I was in fourth grade I’d read every book that wasn’t research in the school library. So we started making trips to the public library. And books and books and books and then I’d ask my dad to buy me some.
One author that we were proud to display was R.L. Stine. It was Michael to read an hour every Goosebumps book. Honestly, I don’t think I ever did. But I do know that I read a sizable portion of books by R.L. Stine. As I got older and my sister had a child, she started falling in love with books and just last year I gave her every Goosebumps book I owned but 2, Careful What You Wish For and Camp Nightmare.
Some of my favorite R.L. Stine books, come from the Fear Street line. In particular, I was and still am a big fan of The Fear Street Cheerleaders Series, The First Evil, The Second Evil and The Third Evil still sit proudly on my bookshelf.
So when I walked in to Barnes and Nobles with my best friend and I saw 2 new Fear Street novels my heart went pitter patter and I think I may have squealed. Actually… now that I think about it, I am pretty sure I did squeal because I vaguely remember my best friend telling me to keep it down. I remember him giving me that look, the one that says oh here we go again.
I decided I was going to kick off my October Spooktacular Halloween Giveaway Month by reading these two books and then easing into some other stay up late and hide under your covers books.
Now, without further ado, my review on the newest Fear Street Books.
Fear Street Super Thriller Genre: YA Horror
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Book Description:
In one volume, R.L. Stine presents two bone-chilling stories of teens in terror in his worldwide bestselling Fear Street series, which has sold 80 million copies around the world.
In Party Games, Rachel is thrilled to be invited to Brendan Fear’s exclusive birthday party on Fear Island. When Rachel arrives at the island, a scavenger hunt turns up some horrifying surprises. Soon, Rachel has to fight to survive the deadliest game of all — the game of murder. In Don’t Stay Up Late, Lisa is plagued by nightmares and hallucinations after a horrible accident that landed her in the hospital for weeks. Lisa is happy to take a babysitting job to get her mind off of the terrible events of the past. But then her friends begin dying one by one. Are Lisa’s nightmares coming true?With double the fear and double the fun, this Fear Street Super Chiller will appeal to fans of the original Fear Street series as well as the countless young adults who have grown up reading R.L. Stine.
When I first started party games, I had so many different theories. And I honestly enjoyed the introduction, I thought it was pretty cool, it was kinda like the opening dialogue that one would expect in a movie a sort of foreshadowing of the events to come. I genuinely liked these characters I felt like they had a realistic quality to them.
It was really fun to cells back into the world of Shadyside and Fear Street and I was particularly fond of the inclusion of an actual Fear character in this book as a main character of sorts.
I found Rachel to be a likable lead with pretty realistic reactions for the most part. But I didn’t find this book particularly terrifying, not even the littlest bit scary. It was more kitschy not really how I remember these books. Sure it had a surprise ending, but it wasn’t gruesome or gory. I had some predictable moments but nothing that really stood out to me.
That’s not to say that I did not enjoy the book. I found the book to be very enjoyable, it was funny and very much a book that takes place in a high school type environment and unique. I thought Brendan Fear was a very intriguing character, one you definitely want to learn a little more about.
I like the character interactions and I loved the setting. All in all I feel like this was a pretty interesting dive back into the Fear Street world.
This book, definitely took me down memory lane. This was exactly what I remembered from the Fear Street novels. It was a little later than what I was accustomed to but the premise of the story was for sure 110% Fear Street.
There was a lot that you can predict the story, its not hidden from you if you pay any amount of attention to the details but that doesn’t mean you don’t second guess yourself. It’s not as dark of a thriller as I was expecting, having grown up with The Cheerleaders, Dangerous Girls and 99 Fear Street but it did have it holy crap moments.
Out of the two, hands down don’t stay up late is my favorite. My only big complaint is the main character. I was not, in any way shape or form a fan of Lisa. Sure, I was rooting for her not to die and to solve the mystery but her character traits and personality irked me. I found her annoying and pretty unappealing, I couldn’t create a bond with her whereas I loved Rachel in Party Games. It’s also funny because I really liked Nate, and I get the feeling that I wasn’t supposed to.
This rating is based off of story content alone. I also have to point out that the ending was pretty inspired. I can’t say for sure how this new line of Fear Street novels will go. I don’t know if they will continue down this lighter road or slowly make a descent back into the spooky dark place most of us have come to love but I will say that the nostalgia alone is enough for most of us to pick up these books and read a couple of the next ones. I for one hope that we get a bit more of the darker side of Fear Street.
Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children’s literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children’s author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA’s Read
Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
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Adventures in Ink (Reviews) 